Card Spotlight: 7-10-09

1934-1936 Diamond Stars #65 - Zeke Bonura

Retro is all the rage today. New baseball cards are going out of their way to look like the baseball cards of yesteryear. Today we have Allen & Ginter, Goudey and Goodwin reminding us of times before most of us were born.

In fact, one of the recent Goudey sets included Diamond Stars-like cards. A few years ago, we were treated with Old Judge cards and Turkey Red. Each year, there seems to be a new retro themed card set. That's fine by me. I really enjoy seeing older cards in a new light. That's why I create vintage cards of current players in my spare time.

I've never been daring enough to try the Diamond Stars cards, but I have created Allen & Ginter, Goodwin, and early Topps cards of current players or cards of players who were cheated out of a card in a long ago set. While I enjoy the current trend of retro cards, there is absolutely nothing like the real thing.

When I can, I seek out vintage cards. Vintage is technically anything that is 1980 or earlier. I have my own gauge when it comes to older cards. Anything older than me is old. Older than my dad is true vintage. Older than my grandfather is ancient. I would venture that could be a floating measurement for anyone. My numbers line up as 1976, 1945, and 1920. My oldest card falls into the true vintage range; a 1933 World Wide Gum card.

One card that I've had my eye on for awhile is the Zeke Bonura Diamond Stars card. When it comes up for bids, I always seem to fall just short of the final price. That still doesn't stop my from trying, when I have the funds.

The Diamond Stars card set was issued by the National Chicle company between 1934 and 1936. The entire set is only 108 cards, but variations push the master set to 170. The Zeke Bonura card is one of the few that doesn't have a variation. That's part of the appeal of this particular card for me. I only have to hunt one card down. Multiple parallels in many recent releases have me a bit gun shy, when it comes to variations.

The card itself is a gorgeous example of a mid-thirties card. There is still an element of Art Deco, which was amazingly popular during this period. Normally, that wouldn't work for a card set. It works beautifully here.

These cards usually get lumped in with Goudey, but they were a separate set from a different company. Both sets of cards are the premier examples of mid-thirties baseball cards. Many sets from that era are strictly black and white. These are in glorious color and really stand out from the other releases during that time period. One day, the Zeke Bonura will be in my collection. Until then, I'm glad I have the picture to tide me over.